Sarah Barnard wins industry recognition as Freelance Trainer of the Year
Sarah Barnard was judged to be the Freelance Trainer of the Year at the Institute of IT Training's awards dinner last night. The title is bestowed on the individual who has shown exceptional skills in managing, delivering, and/or contributing, through training assignments, to the success of their clients over the past twelve months. BroadSkill, the UK's largest supplier of freelance trainers and performance solutions sponsor the award.
In selecting the winner, the judges particularly liked the innovative use of automation behind Sarah's regular newsletter and focus she always maintains on establishing value for her clients.
This is the third year for the award which was put in place to recognise excellence amongst the growing ranks of independent trainers. The majority of training delivery in the UK is delivered by independent trainers and they support businesses and their people to perform day in and day out often with little recognition. Throughout the last 5 years we have witnessed a massive shift away from permanent employment of trainers and independent trainers are now estimated to make at least 70% of the UK delivery workforce, according to BroadSkill. Such trainers need not only to be able stand up in front of a class delivering in depth knowledge and learning but also have to carry out training needs analysis, provide learning consultancy, develop courses and manage projects, as well as selling their own services and managing their own businesses.
This year was a very tight final with two excellent candidates. The Institute awarded the Silver award to Julia Emelogu, last year's winner.
Sarah Barnard has developed a unique approach with her Time Saver Training™ which delivers learning that is tightly focussed on increasing productivity in the workplace. The basis of her approach is that once staff have a better understanding of their software, they are then able to use it more productively. This in turn leads to increased productivity for the employee and increased productivity for the company.
The judges were impressed with Sarah's excellent understanding of adult learning principles and the rigorous testing strategy that she uses to measure and evaluate the training intervention.
Henry Jodrell, Sales and Marketing Director at BroadSkill, who presented the award, said: "we send our heartiest congratulations to Sarah for this well-deserved award. Being a successful freelance trainer takes a lot of skill and dedication and at BroadSkill we are committed to recognising success whenever and wherever we can. Winners of this award provide role models and help us in developing the profession, both within our own associate trainer base and in our quest to bring new instructors into the industry."